The Associated Press and Volvo Ocean Race Join Forces

30 November 2010

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND VOLVO OCEAN RACE JOIN FORCES

Alicante, Spain, 30 November 2010 - The Associated Press (AP) has been selected as a global content distribution provider for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011–12. From the build-up to the race through to the finish, photos, video and other content will be made available to the world’s media via AP Images (www.apimages.com), the commercial sales division of AP, and AP Mobile.

Commenting on the arrangement, AP Images Product Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa James Claydon said: “We are proud to be working with such a prestigious international event and are committed to delivering the most exciting content to the world’s media on a daily basis. With multi-platform access to thousands of daily newspaper, radio, television and online customers, we believe that only AP can offer such a massive project a truly global and all-media solution.”

Pedro Galvan Paris, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Volvo Ocean Race added, “Our strategy for the upcoming event is to create as much quality content as we can and ensure that it is distributed globally by appointing media providers, such as the Associated Press. We are in negotiations with several other distributors and will be confirming their appointment later this year and early into next year.”

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP.

- The next Volvo Ocean Race will start in the Spanish port of Alicante in the autumn of 2011 and finish in Galway, Ireland during the summer of 2012.
- The course will include stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajai (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France).
- The first 31,250 nautical-mile race first took place over 37 years ago (as the Whitbread Round the World Race 1973-74), testing the crews against some of the most ferocious elements that man can encounter.
- The 2011-12 race will be the 11th edition of the event.
- The design of the boat is regulated and the boat is built for speed